This invention relates to a catalytic converter used to purify the exhaust gas of a vehicle and, more particularly, to a resilient supporting member for elastically supporting a ceramic honeycomb unit as a constituent of the catalytic converter.
A conventional catalytic converter, generally designated by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1, is divided into upper and lower sections at the centerline A--A known per se, and has a casing 2 made of refractory stainless steel material, a ceramic honeycomb unit 6 contained within the casing 2 for purifying exhaust gas, and resilient supporting members 5, 5 for supporting the honeycomb unit 6 at the inner peripheral wall 3 of the casing 2 at both the cylindrical ends. Thus, an air gap passage 4 is formed between the ceramic honeycombs unit 6 and the inner peripheral wall 3 of the casing 2 between the supporting members 5 and 5.
The exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine in a vehicle is fed in the catalytic converter 1 from one tubular end 2' of the casing 2, then passed through the known honeycomb pores (not shown) formed in the interior of the honeycomb unit 6 to be purified in contact with the catalyst coated on the surface of the pores, and eventually fed out of the other tubular end 2".
Since the catalytic converter 1 is thus constructed as described above, the exhaust gas thus inflowed is not entirely passed through the interior of the ceramic honeycomb unit 6, but a part of the exhaust gas is introduced from the tubular end 2' into one resilient supporting member 5, through the air gap passage 4, then via the other resilient supporting member 5, and exhausted from the other tubular end 2" as the exhaust gas without being purified therethrough.